Redfish take over Salvador

Bruce McDonald/Herald-Guide

Hunter McDonald and his father, Bruce, caught several redfish by fishing near rigs in Lake Salvador.

Last week, I heard that if I wanted to catch redfish, I needed to head to Lake Salvador.

So my son, Hunter, and I hooked up the Kenner VX and launched at the end of the road in Bayou Gauche. We made the 15-minute boat ride out to Grosse Point, in Lake Salvador. The winds were light out of the northeast and the water was a murky, stained color. 

There were four  bass boats fishing Temple Bay but we did not see anyone catch a fish. We decided to move out to the rigs in the middle of the lake. My ETEX-Legend hand held GPS has all the old rigs installed into its memory. Crossing Lake Salvador, we decided to fish an old rig location, rig No. 33. 

My depth finder indicated that Lake Salvador is mainly 9 feet throughout the lake. At rig  No. 33, there is a mound of shell on the bottom, which comes up 7 feet and runs 40 yards due south. It is like a small, submerged island under water. All of the rig sites have this type of submerged structure. We also found clear water in the middle of the lake.

A technique we like to use when approaching a fishing spot in Lake Salvador is shutting off the outboard motor 50 yards from the spot and then drifting into it.  Most fishermen in Lake Salvador like to run their outboard motors up to a fishing spot before shutting off their motors. 

Doing so spooks fish away.

Using the trolling motor, we eased into position near old rig site  No. 33. Hunter was using a ¼ ounce jig head with market shrimp and I threw a ¼ ounce gold spoon. Hunter immediately hooked and caught an 18-inch redfish on the bottom. The light wind allowed us to move around like we were bass fishing. Soon I had one on the gold spoon.

We caught four fish at that location before heading to another rig.

On one of the corners of the rig, Hunter hooked another 20-inch redfish. I quickly switched over to a ¼ ounce jig head with market shrimp. Bouncing the bait on the bottom, Hunter and I picked up six more 18-to-22-inch redfish in less than 30 minutes. 

We had caught our limit. 

To make sure we had our limit, Hunter took each redfish out of the ice chest and counted them. 

"What are we going to do?" Hunter asked. 

"Catch and release...we are going to scout around to find more redfish." I replied. 

So, we spent the rest of the trip catching and releasing redfish. Anyone fishing Lake Salvador should check the weather conditions before going out. Thunderstorms can make Lake Salvador a very dangerous lake, so file a float plan before venturing out.

 

Fishing and hunting license renewal

Recreational anglers ages 16 and over using any of the recreational gear must purchase a new fishing license before July 1. New year fishing license are on sale now.

Recreational fishing and hunting licenses may be purchased online at www.la.wildlifelicense.com, or by telephone using a Visa or MasterCard. Call toll free 1-800-765-2602. 

A basic fishing license will cost $9.50 and a saltwater license is $5.50. Seniors, 60 and over, only have to pay $5.